Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts

Saturday, September 06, 2025

Four Strings, No Waiting

This is the weekly dispatch from Bizarro Studios North, where I have been writing and drawing the Monday through Saturday Bizarro comics since 2018. My partner and friend, Dan Piraro, created Bizarro in the late twentieth century and continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.

Wayno 

We've got technological wonders around us, and we've used them to abrogate all responsibility for everything in our lives.
Harlan Ellison (1934-2018)

This timely observation comes from our pipe pic model of the week: Harlan Ellison, the prolific enfant terrible of science fiction (a term he hated).



It was recommended by field correspondent Glenn G., as well as Kent, a regular blog reader and commenter. 


Glenn also provided some background for those who aren't familiar with Ellison's work:
I thought I'd submit for your approval a pipe pic of my favorite author, Harlan Ellison. I don't know if you are familiar with his stories (mostly in sci-fi short stories) or his many columns of movie and/or television criticism. He wrote a number of memorable TV episodes for The Outer Limits, and one for Star Trek (which is considered by many to be the best ever of the original series), and other short story collections. 
I became enamored of the man and his writing in the '70s. A couple of his most often repeated quotes are: "The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity," and my favorite, "You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant."

You can see many of his short videos of commentary from the '80s on YouTube. Check out Harlan Ellison's Watching.

This is Ellison's second pipe pic to appear on the ol' blogeroo. A little over a year ago, we featured a shot of him writing while on exhibit in a bookshop window.

Big Bizarro thanks to Glenn and Kent for the suggestion, which reminds me, I still haven't read The Last Dangerous Visions, the third and final mammoth volume of the anthology series that Ellison launched in 1967. It's on the pile, and I hope to get to it soon.


I have only myself to blame for the latest batch of Bizarro gags, and am planning to keep it that way. No abrogation of responsibility for us!


Tropical shredding is the training program for aspiring air guitarists.
I decided on a vertical strip layout to showcase the full effect of this misunderstood musical art form.

If you'd like to see the reference photo I used to draw this one, check out my free Substack newsletter.

Who doesn't love tablesside sserivce?

I drew the cacti as accurately as I could, but their relative sizes are all over the place.

Over the years, what begins as a curricula transport system eventually becomes an adorable fashion accessory.

Thursday's panel imagines a theater where some patrons never have to miss a minute of the performance. Culture plus convenience!

We are all frogs in the skillet.

The book cover in the comic is an homage to Milton Glaser's 1961 cover for the Signet paperback edition. The first time I read 1984, it was this version, and Glaser's simple, effective design is burned into my mind's eye.

As more people return to the office, you can't be too careful.

Our Latest Bizarro Fashion Plate


Sheila H. of Tucson models one of the new "Eye Heart" T-shirts available in the Comics Kingdom Bizarro Shop. These comfy garments come in five different designs and an array of colors.

Our original Jazz Pickle, Pipe of Ambiguity, and Irön Bunnies öf Dööm shirts are also still available in the shop. All sales benefit your cartoonists. We'd love to share a photo of you in your BeeTees, too!

[End of commercial break.]

That's the latest nuttiness from my Little Shop of Humor. Stop by again next week if you'd like to see more of this stuff.

Bonus Video

Roy Smeck: "Tiger Rag"
Unknown film source, circa 1920s-1930s


Roy Smeck was a Vaudeville performer who became widely known when Warner Brothers featured him in their first "sync-sound" film in 1926. He made numerous other film appearances and had endorsement deals for guitars, as well as selling sheet music and music instruction books. 

Smeck played Hawaiian guitar, banjo, ukulele, and guitar, as evidenced by this Yazoo LP/CD cover:


Underground cartoonist Robert Crumb did the beautiful hand-lettered titles on the cover. The LP was released in 1976 and is highly recommended. It's even available on your favorite streaming services.



A Glut of Bizarro Giddiness

If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.


    

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Saturday, August 23, 2025

The Spy Who Came In From the Shell

This is the weekly dispatch from Bizarro Studios North, where I have been writing and drawing the Monday through Saturday Bizarro comics since 2018. My partner and friend, Dan Piraro, created Bizarro in the late twentieth century and continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.

Wayno 

Let us encourage one another with visions of a shared future. And let us bring all the grit and openheartedness and creative spirit we can muster to gather together and build that future.

Norman Lear (1922-2023)


Last week, I spent a few days in Boston attending the National Cartoonists Society's annual meeting and the Reuben Awards. This was the 79th Reuben Awards (I've only attended ten or eleven, all in the current century).

The awards themselves are, of course, very nice (I received one last year), but they serve as a way of celebrating fellow artists rather than competing against them.

The real value of the two-day-plus-breakfast event is being among other people who typically spend all day hunched over a drawing table or squinting at a computer screen. It's a gathering of colleagues who are actually collegial, and so much more. New attendees wear a "first timer" ribbon attached to their name tag, and they're soon overwhelmed by an outpouring of welcoming and good cheer from regular attendees.

There are only about 500 NCS members worldwide, and nearly every one I know is supportive of their peers and accepting of each other, regardless of differences. We were all glad to catch up on each other's lives and accomplishments, and immerse ourselves in nerdy shop talk.

The organization also has a charitable arm, the NCS Foundation, which awards scholarships to young cartoonists and provides financial assistance to cartoonists in need, quietly and anonymously. (Very few members of our profession achieve Garfield-level financial independence.)

I've made many friends through the organization, some of whom were already longtime heroes. 

I returned home this week energized and inspired, though with a touch of laryngitis from many hours of gabbing and laughing. 

The event was a welcome change from the rancor and divisiveness consuming the country, and a reminder that kindness and goodwill still exist, as corny as that may sound. We experienced a bit of what Norman Lear was advocating for, and I hope you encounter it often as well.


Today's pipe pic model is William A. Rhodes (1916-2007), an inventor and astronomer who claimed to have photographed UFOs in 1947 and 1950.


I saw this photo of Rhoads in a documentary about UFO researchers and poked around online until I found a usable image for the blog. I wonder if either of the objects Rhoads sighted resembled Bizarro's Flying Saucer of Possibility.

Speaking of which, may I remind you that our new "Eye Heart" T-shirts are available in the Comics Kingdom Bizarro Shop?

Apologies for the commercial message, but with newspapers drying up and blowing away, we have to pan for pyrite wherever we can, so we're able to keep making comics for you all.


As a public service, we now present the latest sextet of humorous quadrilaterals to emerge from Bizarro Studios.

Secret Slug does what it takes to fight organized slime.


Who doesn't enjoy dining at a four %#$@ restaurant?

Since attending these meetings, he's become hooked on decaf coffee and artificial sweeteners.

One wrong click can spell disaster.

Here's a peek at an early draft, which I decided not to use.

A well-placed accent mark can turn a familiar name into a cartoon caption.
The visual composition called for a vertical strip layout.

A few would-be editors pointed out that "peso" isn't Spanish for "cash." The Spanish word "efectivo" isn't widely known to English speakers, and using it would have sidetracked the gag. Sometimes one takes linguistic license to make a cartoon work effectively.

Of course, I knew we weren't using a literal translation. I also knew not to engage with pedants looking for an argument. I have plenty of arguments with myself, thank you very much.

The patient also has recurring nightmares about Saint Patrick.

That's the latest comical output from Bizarro Studios North. Your next delivery will arrive in one week.

Be sure to peruse current and upcoming gags anytime at Comics Kingdom.

Bonus Track

Graham Parker & the Rumour:
Waiting for the UFOs
From Squeezing Out Sparks
Arista Records LP, 1979


Graham Parker's Squeezing Out Sparks is one of those albums I always play from start to finish without skipping any tracks. At the time of its release, Arista also issued a promotional-only album called Live Sparks, which featured live versions of every song on the album plus "Mercury Poisoning," an indictment of his former label in the US, and a cover of the Jackson Five's "I Want You Back."

The 1996 compact disc release includes both the original studio album and Live Sparks.


Great Gobs of Bizarro Goodness

If you enjoy what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.


   

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Saturday, August 09, 2025

Freed by Limitations

This is the weekly dispatch from Bizarro Studios North, where I have been writing and drawing the Monday through Saturday Bizarro comics since 2018. My partner and friend Dan Piraro created Bizarro in the late twentieth century and continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.

Wayno 

The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution.
Igor Stravinsky

I don't know a lot about classical music, but I can recognize Igor's insight about the creative process and the challenges faced by artists of all types. It definitely applies to cartoonists who do standalone gags, or "drawings" as The New Yorker refers to them.

Every time we create a cartoon, we begin with a blank page (or screen) and an infinite number of options. Defining a structure that can be applied to a series of comics can inspire a productive bout of writing, which sometimes spills over into developing additional material unrelated to the original framework. Maybe that's what I have found appealing about the occasional "theme weeks" I've done.

When I started to seriously pursue being a daily cartoonist, my default writing strategy involved searching for a joke. That's a simplistic approach, and it can work for a while. However, setting up a premise or situation, or even randomly choosing an object and drawing it, narrows things down. 

Focused exploration truly frees oneself much more than staring at a universe of possibilities or waiting for the gods to drop something into one's hands.

I'm interested in hearing from others about how Igor's observation applies to your own creative work. Whether you're a cartoonist, painter, illustrator, songwriter, cook, coder, scientist, comedian, or anyone who makes something from nothing, drop a comment about how you relate to the idea of constraints.


Today's pipe pic is American playwright Moss Hart (1904-1961).



I found this one myself, but forgot to document where. I did save a short description, but no source:
Moss Hart was one of Broadway’s most successful creators, penning such hits as You Can't Take It With You and The Man Who Came to Dinner, and directing Camelot.
I usually provide some background with these images, and apologize for the scant info on Mr. Harts's photo. Still, it's so snazzy I had to share it.


Let's see what resulted from my self-imposed constraint over the past six days.

Sometimes, an interesting turn of phrase can impose constraints that result in a gag.


When doing a crossword puzzle on the phone, all ten of my fingers feel like they're this size.

This poor character was hoping to relax in his recliner. The mind was willing, but the flesh was overactive. The most challenging aspect of this panel was placing the word balloons.

The strip layout required some serious rearrangement, but it works pretty well.

Thursday's gag can be read as ennui or tragedy. The expressionless protagonists lend themselves to multiple interpretations.

How would the child of a magician rebel against their parents?

Reversing a familiar situation can sometimes result in a workable gag.

Random observations of the week: 

1) I've noticed that my comics feature a higher percentage of redheaded people than the actual world population.

2) The same goes for bow ties.

That's the latest from my Little Shop of Humor. Please visit again in a week for another batch of rectangular risibility.

Commercial Break

This is a quick reminder that we have a fresh batch of Bizarro tees and baseball caps available in the Comics Kingdom Bizarro Shop.


If you get a shirt and like it, feel free to send a photo we can share with the Jazz Pickle Army.

Bonus Tracks

Eddie Harris: Freedom Jazz Dance
From The In Sound
Atlantic Records LP, 1965


This is the first recording of Eddie Harris's composition, "Freedom Jazz Dance.”

Miles Davis: Freedom Jazz Dance
From Miles Smiles
Columbia LP, 1967


Miles Davis made the composition a standard when he recorded it for his 1967 album, Miles Smiles. Harris's original had a relaxed, loping groove; Davis reconfigured it as a tightened-up, angular tour de force.


Buckets of Bizarro Blatherings

If you enjoy what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.


   

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Saturday, July 26, 2025

If I Had a Plunger

This is the weekly dispatch from Bizarro Studios North, where I have been writing and drawing the Monday through Saturday Bizarro comics since 2018. My partner and friend Dan Piraro created Bizarro in the late twentieth century and continues to do the Sunday comic from Rancho Bizarro in Mexico.

Wayno 

On vacation, you can wear all the colorful and casual clothing that you like, but you must always be elegant.
Christian Dior

And when you find a quote on the internet, you can't be sure if the person it's attributed to really said it. Nonetheless, this is a good one. I may not always (or ever) be elegant, but it's a goal.

I was searching for a pithy saying about clothing because the crews at Bizarro Studios and Comics Kingdom will soon offer a new line of Bizarrowear. Dan Piraro and I have been working on several designs that will be available soon.

As a gag-a-day comics feature, Bizarro has no recurring characters to generate action figure or plush toy income. Still, we can offer snazzy wearable art to help make up for the ever-shrinking newspaper biz. We're not complaining, of course! We love doing this job and connecting with our community of comics readers.

Watch this space for news when the new duds are available. Meanwhile, the Comics Kingdom Bizarro Shop still has plenty of booty for your enjoyment.

We generally avoid marketing and solicitation, so thanks for bearing with me today.

Here endeth the commercial.


Bizarro field correspondent Steve D shares today's subtitled pipe pic.



Earlier this year, Steve wrote:
I’ve been watching the original 1966 Ultraman TV show. Wonderfully bad. The head of the monster-fighting team is referred to as “Cap” in the subtitles. I assume they mean “Capt.”
Cap frequently has a pipe in his mouth, but so far, eight episodes in, it’s never been lit. 

I'm guessing that Cap might have used his pipe as a fashion accessory rather than a nicotine delivery system. It certainly gives him an air of authority.

A hearty thank you to our pal Steve for the screen grab.


Today, we feature the second AI Radio week. I haven't run out of hallucinatory musical performers, but I'll give it a rest for a while.


Again, we kicked off with a straightforward gag to set up the concept for the week.
Many years ago, I did a drawing of Jimi Hendrix for a guitar magazine (I forget which one). After it was published, the Art Director contacted me to say that Al Hendrix, Jimi's father, had seen the illustration and inquired about buying the original or a print for the Experience Music Project, now known as the Museum of Pop Culture. I was of course flattered, and honored his request.


The only image I was able to locate recently was this low-resolution one.

Oh, yes, the magazine article was about a symphonic adaptation of some Hendrix songs.

Wednesday's gag was one of my favorites of the week, and had me humming "Midnight Drain to Georgia" for several days.

"It's All Right, Ma (I'm Only Grilling) was on Kabob Dylan's 1965 album, Bringing It All Backyard.

My favorite ZZ Topiary album is Tres Árboles, which was rereleased under the title Tree Hombres.

Everybody sing along: "All the leaves are brown, but fortunately, we don't eat at this stage of our metamorphosis."

That concludes Week Two of our AI Radio hit parade. 

Your regular programming will return on Monday.

Bonus Track

Omnigrad: "Like a Rolling Stone"


Omnigrad is a mysterious performer who has been creating "8-bit" covers of popular songs and posting them on YouTube since 2010.


A Gaggle of Bizarro Goodness

If you like what we do and appreciate that it's free, we encourage you to explore the following links.


   

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